By Kodjo Adams, GNA
Accra,
Oct. 14, GNA – Mrs Kate Quartey-Papafio, the Chief Executive Officer of Reroy
Cables, was one of the country’s renowned women entrepreneurs that represented
this year’s African Women in Manufacturing conference christened “ Lionesses of
Africa Annual; Conference” in
Johannesburg, South Africa.
She
was among the five African women entrepreneurs nominated as panelists for the
first session drawn from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa Namibia and Kenya to
discuss issues on empowering women and addressing the under-representation of
women in manufacturing on the continent.
The
conference brought together 30 speakers from 12 countries.
The
panelists include, Mrs Kate
Quartey-Papafio, Founder, Reroy Cables, Ghana,
Ms Kofo Akinkugbe, Founder, Secure ID, Nigeria, Ms Mayleen Kyster,
Founder, Africa Steel Holdings, South Africa,
Ms Ally Angula, Co-founder, Leap Namibia Group, Namibia, Ms Flora
Mutahi, Founder, Melvin Marsh International and
Chairperson, Kenya Association of Manufacturers.
The
Lionesses of Africa aims to recognize all those women entrepreneurs in Africa
who are an inspiration to us all, those who have made it to the top of their
fields and who are shaking up their industries and business sectors.
In
an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mrs Quartey-Papafio said the
Conference featured five specialist sessions, each led by women who were
pioneers in their business sectors.
The
Ghanaian Entrepreneur said other topics discussed at the conference include:
looking at opportunities for future growth, the path forward for women in
manufacturing, how can the women pioneers effectively recruit, retain and
advance talented women in manufacturing, how can we increase the visibility of
women business leaders who serve role models and how can we create more
mentorship programs for women?.
She
posited that the manufacturing sector is missing a critical talent pool, which
could aid in closing the skills gap and that women are manufacturing’s largest
pool of untapped talent in Africa.
According
to statistics, the average UK manufacturing company is currently made up of 85
per cent of men and 15 per cent women. In the US women make up 47 percent of
the labor force, but only 27 percent of the manufacturing workforce.
However,
Africa has no alternative to developing a strong value-added manufacturing
base.
According
to the World Bank, in 2014, 30 per cent of China’s Gross Domestic Product came
from manufacturing and by comparison, Nigeria’s share stood at just 9 per cent,
Kenya 12 per cent, and Zambia 8 per cent.
GNA